The Bears are considering whether they should shut down right guard Kyle Long for the season after he left Sunday’s 15-14 loss to the 49ers with a recurring left shoulder injury.

Along with recovering from major ankle surgery last year, Long has been playing since 2016 with a torn labrum in his left shoulder and has also dealt with a left finger injury this year.

Long told the Tribune after the game he “jacked my shoulder up pretty good,” and coach John Fox was asked Monday if the Bears would shut him down.

“That's a possibility,” Fox said. “I don't want to say yes, I don't want to say no at this point. We're still evaluating that.”

Long signed a four-year, $40 million contract extension last season that runs through 2021, and he is a key piece of the Bears offensive line over the next several seasons. Now that the team is officially eliminated from playoff contention, it could make sense for him to have his shoulder repaired soon to be ready for 2018 training camp.

The drawback, of course, is not having Long on the line makes life that much more difficult for developing quarterback Mitch Trubisky and running backs Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen. Long was injured in the third quarter Sunday, and the Bears didn’t complete any scoring drives after his departure.

Tight spot: Fox didn’t give a real answer for rookie tight end Adam Shaheen’s lack of playing time Sunday.

The remaining four games are virtually meaningless except for what they can do for young players’ development. So Fox was asked if some of the young players will see more time this month, a nod to Shaheen, who was drafted in the second round.

“We have a lot of young players playing already,” Fox said.

They do, but Shaheen was on the field for only nine snaps on offense, while Dion Sims played 25 snaps. Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains said last month they hoped to continue giving Shaheen opportunities when Sims returned from illness against the Eagles.

Fox pointed to the Bears’ limited time of possession Sunday.

“It’s hard to get a lot of playing time when you have 37 plays,” Fox said. “He’s a guy that we’d like to look at a little bit more. It just didn’t materialize that way yesterday, but we like him a lot.”

The Bears tried out three tight ends Monday — Jace Amaro, Devon Cajuste and Gavin Escobar — according to a league source.

Escobar was a 2013 second-round draft pick by the Cowboys and played four seasons in Dallas and two games with the Ravens this year. The Jets selected Amaro in the second round in 2014, and he played in 14 games before missing 2015 with a shoulder injury. He played three games with the Titans in 2016.